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Rural School Leaflet No. 4. May, 1922. 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

BUREAU OF EDUCATION 

i) 

WASHINGTON, D. C. 



CONSOLIDATION OF SCHOOLS IN MAINE AND 
CONNECTICUT. 



INTRODUCTION. 



The movement which is now termed " consolidation of schools," began in New 
England in the Latin-grammar schools of the seventeenth century and in the 
union intermediate and graded schools established in Massachusetts in the 
years 1830 to 1850. In most of the New England States progress toward com- 
plete or approximately complete centralization of schools has been steady and 
the results permanent. The percentage of pupils and teachers in one-room 
schools is now comparatively low in the States of this group. 

Because of the town organization peculiar to New England, the gradual evo- 
lution of the city schools and the absence of laws and data about the consoli- 
dated school as a distinct or unusual type, the extent of consolidation can 
not be expressed in the same way as in other States. The school system is too 
closely interwoven to permit of the segregation of data concerning one kind 
of school. 

An excellent bulletin has recently appeared on consolidation of schools and 
transportation of pupils at public expense in Massachusetts. 1 In gathering 
data for a survey of school consolidation in the United States, the Bureau of 
Education has received from Maine and Connecticut reports which offer so 
plainly valuable contributions to the literature on consolidation in New England 
that it seems advisable to publish them in full as a separate study. They are 
therefore presented in this form. The main facts will be incorporated in the 
general report. 

CONSOLIDATION IN MAINE. 

By H. A. Allen, Agent for Rural Education. 
GENERAL STATEMENT AND CLASSIFICATION. 

The unit of school organization in Maine is the " town," and included in 
the boundaries of the State are 519 such units grouped into 20 cities, 433 
towns, and 66 plantations. Cities, towns, and plantations have like respon- 
sibilities and duties in the support of schools and in this report the term 
" town " will be generally used and is inclusive of cities and plantations ; it 
must be understood as a term nearly synonymous with the term " township " 
as the latter is commonly used outside of New England, although the New 
England town has not the regularity of size and shape which characterizes 
the townships of the West. 

1 Massachusetts : Dept. of Education. Consolidation of Schools and Transportation of 
Tupils at Public Expense in Massachusetts. Boston, 1920. 27 pp. (Bulletin No. 6.) 
105244°- 22 1 



2 CONSOLIDATION OF SCHOOLS. ** ^\A l,r 

The incorporated city in Maine includes within its area the entire town- 
ship of which, previous to its incorporation, it may have been the central 
village. As these townships generally include about 36 square miles in area 
and, in the cases of several cities, exceed that area, it will be seen that within 
the limits of the incorporated city are sections and communities which are 
as truly rural as are those in adjoining towns. Thus, it should be clear that 
schools maintained and supported by cities may be both urban and rural 
and that the urban schools may serve pupils whose homes are in rural sec- 
tions. 

The same situation applies in the case of the larger town's in which may 
be located villages of such population and conditions as to make their classifica- 
tion urban. Such villages are not separately responsible for school support 
and the schools located therein also may serve pupils within the entire town- 
ship. 

In cities and larger villages, the municipal officers, school-board members, 
and all others in charge of city, village, or town administration are chosen 
from the township as a whole. A city ward may extend from the city proper 
through the country section of the township of which the city is a part to a 
point several miles from the civic center. 

The classification of " rural " and " urban " as applied to Maine towns by 
the United States Census Bureau does not meet the situation, since persons 
residing in farming communities may be included in the urban population and 
persons residing in industrial villages, in which the conditions are urban, 
may be classified as rural in case the population of the township as a whole 
is less than 2,500. 

In order that a more careful comparison of school conditions in urban and 
rural communities may be made, and to permit such comparison to be extended 
to conditions in other States in which the organization is such that the classi- 
fication of the United States Census Bureau may serve, a classification more 
or less arbitrary has been made of urban and rural communities in Maine. 

Under this classification 53 communities are classified as urban. In two 
cases the communities are deemed to include the entire township. In the 
other cases, they designate villages or certain sections within recognized city 
or village limits, the area served by sidewalks, water supply, sewer sys- 
tems, etc. 

Almost without exception, there are located in these communities elementary 
schools to which children living in rural communities have access, and are, 
in many cases, transported. In them are located high schools established and 
maintained for all children of high-school grade within the limits of the town, 
and serving as extensively and effectively the children whose homes are in 
the rural sections of the town as those who live within the city or village 
proper. It will seem, therefore, that both elementary and secondary schools 
located in ©ities and villages which are classified as urban are in many cases 
serving rural communities originally served by small rural schools located 
in those communities. 

It does not seem to be logical, however, to include such schools in a study 
of rural consolidated schools, since it is clear that they must serve a much 
larger proportion of urban children than rural children. Under such condi- 
tions, therefore, this report deals only with schools located outside the 53 com- 
munities mentioned. 

UNIT OF SUPERVISION. 

Despite the fact that there are, as described, 519 . units of school support 
and administration within the State, it should be understood that the number 
of units of supervision is smaller. Authority is given to the State superintendent 



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CONSOLIDATION IN MAINE. 6 

of public schools to unite for purposes of supervision two or more towns, when 
such towns have less than 50 teaching positions. Under this authority, 142 
unions of towns for supervision have been formed. Eight cities and towns 
are not joined with others but employ a superintendent of schools who serves 
that city or town alone. 

By this provision, every town, regardless of population or wealth, has the 
services of a full-time professional superintendent of schools. Such officers are 
chosen by a joint committee made up of three representatives of each town in 
the union. These positions are nonpolitical and the persons chosen must meet 
qualifications set by the State superintendent of public schools and hold a cer- 
tificate qualifying them for such work. The State and the towns share in the 
payment of salary. The State also assists in meeting traveling expenses. 

This plan provides for reasonably close supervision and the average number 
of teachers under the direction of a single union superintendent is 33. Two, 
three, or four towns are commonly grouped. 

Mention of this plan of supervision should not be omitted, since in itself it is 
consolidation and has a tendency to broaden the policy of school administration, 
to place adjoining towns in closer relationship and, in some cases, to make it 
possible for the school of one town to serve the pupils of another town. In 
case of secondary schools, the latter element is important, and the area of 
service of the secondary school located within one town may extend to several 
other towns not maintaining secondary schools. 

TOPOGRAPHICAL AND CLIMATIC CONDITIONS. 

Mention should be made of the topographical and climatic conditions of the 
State, since they have an important effect on consolidation. Many of the towns 
are sparsely settled. A large area of the State (approximately 48 per cent) is 
unsettled and includes forest and lake areas. The occasional settlements in this 
area are without organization for self-government and the schools are admin- 
istered directly by the State superintendent of public schools through State 
funds provided for the purpose. 

Mountains, lakes, and rivers and arms of the sea set up natural barriers which 
tend in many cases to isolate one community from another and prevent direct 
communication, even in cases where these communities are within the bound- 
aries of the same town. The rugged coastline of the State increases the diffi- 
culty of transportation in the coast towns. There is little if any of the uni- 
formity of settlement of population noticeable in the rural sections of some 
other States, except in the rich agricultural section of northeastern Maine. 

Climatic conditions are such that through the winter months and often, in 
some sections, for the full period from November 1 to April 1, transportation of 
pupils for any considerable distance is rendered most difficult. Normally heavy 
snowfalls with severe storms put even trunk line highways in such condition 
that the year-round use of the automobile is impossible. During the current 
winter, with conditions rather better than in several years past, snow has been 
on the ground constantly from November 1 to March 15 and, in the northern 
part of the State, will remain until after April 1. Except for areas imme- 
diately within the cities and larger villages, the use of automobiles has been 
almost wholly abandoned. Severely cold weather in midwinter also is a handi- 
cap to extensive transportation, although it is a factor chiefly in cases of small 
children. 

CONVEYANCE OF PUPILS. 

The most satisfactory type of conveyance vehicles are the horse-drawn 
wagons, the bodies of which may be placed upon sleds with the coming of the 
snow. A marked improvement in standards of transportation has been made 
within the past few years. To meet the call for such transportation, the 



4 CONSOLIDATION OF SCHOOLS, 

authorities of the Maine State prison have been constructing, according to 
specifications of the State department of education, a covered wagon with 
glass sides, heated and ventilated, with comfortable seats and so arranged 
that the driver is within the wagon and can exercise proper supervision of the 
pupils transported. The wagons constructed have a capacity of from 12 to 
20 pupils. For longer routes school officers have purchased wagons of the 
type manufactured in the middle Western States. 

A problem of conveyance is to secure a satisfactory arrangement for the 
children who are so scattered through the section that a single conveyance 
route cannot be arranged. Homes located on side roads sometimes are so iso- 
lated that conveyance for the children living therein must be provided for 
individually. When a very small group of pupils is so conveyed, arrangements 
generally are made for this conveyance to be provided by the parent or some 
other person in that neighborhood. In such cases the vehicle furnished may 
not be entirely satisfactory, and regulations to safeguard the children and 
insure their comfort are difficult to enforce. The school authorities are often 
at the mercy of the person providing the transportation through the fact that 
that individual is the only one available for such service and the transportation 
must be continued in order that the pupils may have school privileges. 

THE VILLAGE THE CENTER OF CONSOLIDATION. 

Rural schools which may be classed as consolidated schools generally are 
located in villages. The open country consolidated school does not exist in 
Maine, except in a few two-teacher schools. The New England village is the 
natural center of all activities of the town in which it is located. In it may 
be found the school, the church, the grange, the farmers' union store, and the 
general store. There is a community of interest between the villager and the 
farmer. They meet together in business and social relationships. They unite 
at the town meetings for the selection of officers to administer the affairs of 
the town and to make the provisions for the support of schools, maintenance 
of roads, and other town activities. The village, too, generally is so located 
that the outlying roads run naturally to it. As a matter of convenience in 
location, if for no other reason, the village is the logical place for the location 
of the school which is to serve the surrounding country. 

PROCESSES OF CONSOLIDATION. 

Due to the fact that the town has been the school unit in Maine since 
1893, at which time the school district was abolished, it is very difficult to trace 
accurately the growth of consolidation. This fact also renders it more difficult 
to determine definitely what schools fairly may be classed as consolidated 
schools, as the laws of the State have long provided for the closing of schools 
and the transfer of pupils to other schools by action of the superintending 
school committees. 

This committee, consisting of three members elected from the town at large, 
is charged with the management of the schools. It has authority to close any 
school it deems too small for profitable maintenance and may transfer pupils 
from school to school. The citizens of the town, however, have authority to 
take action to reopen a school which the committee has suspended. Schools hav- 
ing an average attendance less than eight shall be closed automatically unless the 
town shall vote to continue them after the superintending school committee has 
made a written recommendation to that effect. The committee also determines 
whether or not transportation is necessary and is the sole judge of requirements, 
as the law makes neither age nor distance limit. 

It will be noted from this that the lack of requirement for formal action by 
the committees corresponding to the school districts and the simplicity of 



CONSOLIDATION IN MAINE. 5 

method by which schools may be combined tend to obscure the history of the 
progress of consolidation. 

HISTORY OF LEGISLATION MAKING CONSOLIDATION POSSIBLE. 

It is interesting to sketch the history of legislation relating to school districts, 
conveyance, and consolidation. Under the Massachusetts law of 1789, school 
districts were established and from that time until 1817 the powers of these 
districts were enlarged. When Maine became a State in 1820, there were 23G 
towns. The laws relating to education, as inherited from Massachusetts, were 
retained. As early as 1822, however, legislation was passed for the abolition of 
school districts in certain cities, and in 1842 provision was made for districts 
having a sufficient number of scholars to require two or more schools to be 
operated. 

In 1846, at the first State meeting of teachers and those interested in educa- 
tion, a memorial to the legislature was prepared which included among its 
items of complaint a reference to the " evils of multiplying of school districts." 

In 1847, legislation was passed authorizing districts to unite for the support 
of a graded school, and a few years later provision was made that a district 
could include parts of two or more towns. A recognition of the importance of 
the town in school matters was evident by action in 1854 which gave to the 
towns the right to determine the number and limits of school districts, and to 
divide or discontinue them or annex them to any other district. 

In 1868, the opposition to the district system began. From that time until 
school districts were finally abolished in 1893, the whole tendency of legislation 
was to reduce the authority of the district and to provide the way for the town 
to own school property and manage the public schools through its committees. 
Following this line came the first move toward consolidation when in 1880 
legislation was enacted providing that a school might be suspended when a 
board consisting of the municipal officers and the school committee considered 
that the number of scholars therein was too few for profitable maintenance. 
At the same time, provision was made that funds apportioned to the abandoned 
district might be used for the conveyance of pupils. This piece of legislation 
also made clear the methods to be followed by the town in taking over property 
owned by the district. 

When, in 1893, district lines were finally erased, 162 towns already had volun- 
tarily abolished the district and adopted the town plan of management and the 
number of districts had been decreased to 2.963. In following years, provision 
was made to encourage transportation, to make more easily possible suspension 
of schools and consolidation, to permit an expenditure for board of pupils in lieu 
of conveyance, and to permit towns to furnish funds out of which expense for 
conveyance to secondary schools might be paid. 

With the passage of the new State school fund act in 1921, financial' encour- 
agement of consolidation was given through a provision which permits the 
State superintendent of schools to assist towns through special State aid for 
the encouragement of worthy projects, including consolidation of schools and 
improvement of conveyance. Under the terms by which the new school fund 
is distributed, provision also is made that the State aid payable on account of 
a teaching position shall not be sacrificed if that position is discontinued in the 
process of consolidation with necessary conveyance furnished of an approved 
type. 

RURAL CONSOLIDATED SCHOOLS. 

There are 109 towns in the State in which there are no urban communities 
and in which rural schools are located which may be properly termed consoli- 
dated schools. Some of these have no more facilities or equipment than the 
ordinary village school. Many are housed in buildings not adequate to serve a 
thoroughly modern type of consolidated school, but undoubtedly all prov'de 
105244°— 22 2 



6 



CONSOLIDATION OF SCHOOLS. 



facilities and a type of education superior to those of the one-teacher schools 

which they have absorbed. 

in all cases such children are transported to the schools represented on the list. 

In many cases, the children from the outlying sections are in a minority, but 
Wherever secondary school privileges are offered, the high school serves the 
entire town. 

In some instances, the elementary and secondary schools are not housed in 
the same building but clearly represent a single organization. While the con- 
solidation has been accomplished, the single plant has not been constructed or 
may not be necessary. 

The schools may be divided into five groups as follows : 

1. Two or three teacher elementary schools serving a part of the town. In 
this group there are 17 schools. 

2. Elementary schools of three teachers and more serving a large part of the 
entire town, of which there are 15. 

3. Schools offering both elementary and secondary instruction serving part of 
the town for the former and all of the town for the latter. Of these there are 62. 

4. Elementary schools serving the entire town — representing complete con- 
solidation of elementary schools. Of these there are 10. 

5. Schools offering both elementary and secondary instruction serving the en- 
tire town — representing complete consolidation, both elementary and secondary. 
Of these there are 13. 

COMMUNITIES CLASSIFIED AS URBAN. 

There are also 53 urban communities, in practically all of which there are 
schools which also are serving rural sections and represent consolidation to a 
greater or less extent. 

Reference to the first part of this report will indicate that communities 
classified as urban are, with two exceptions, only parts of the township in which 
conditions of population, industrial life, and general interests result in a type 
of community wholly urban. 

GENERAL STATISTICS, URBAN AND RURAL. 

The following table, based on conditions existing during the school year end- 
ing June 30, 1921, shows the relative proportion of enrollment, number of 
schools, etc., in urban and rural communities : 





Urban. 


Rural. 


Total. 


Percentage 

of whole 

that is 

rural. 


Pupils enrolled in elementary schools 


52, 859 

13, 575 

1,566 

605 

1,378 

51 

48 

63 

1,267 
356 
375 

8 


78, 178 
8,912 
3,215 

500 
3,138 

184 

2,200 

406 

532 

2,600 

1,079 

14 


131, 037 

22, 487 

4,781 

1,105 

4,516 

235 

2,248 

469 

1,799 
2,956 
1,454 

22 


59.6 


Pupils enrolled in secondary schools 


39.6 


Teaching positions in elementary schools 


67.2 


Teaching positions in secondary schools 


45.2 


Elementary schoolrooms in charge of a teacher 


69.5 




78.3 


Schools maintained in buildings having only one class- 
room in use 

Schools maintained in buildings having two classrooms 
in use 

Schools maintained in buildings having more than two 


97.8 
86.5 
29.6 




87.9 


Elementary schoolrooms to which pupils are conveyed. 
Secondary schools to which pupils are conveyed 


73.9 
63.6 



From the foregoing table it will be noted that approximately tbree-fifths of 
elementary-school enrollment is in rural schools and that approximately two- 
thirds of the elementary schoolrooms and teaching positions are in rural com- 
munities. The fact that only two-fifths of the pupils enrolled in secondary 
schools are in those located in urban communities should not be interpreted 



CONSOLIDATION IN MAINE. 7 

as a direct indication that the opportunity for education in rural and urban 
communities is in the same ratio. As has been stated previously in this report, 
many secondary schools located in urban communities serve efficiently boys 
and girls whose homes are in rural communities. 

NUMBER OF ONE-TEACHER SCHOOLS. 

The following shows the number of one-teacher rural schools maintained 
during the last 10-year period : 1912, 2,468 ; 1913, 2,459 ; 1914, 2,392 ; 1915, 2,396 ; 
1916, 2,358 ; 1917, 2,353 ; 1918, 2,29S ; 1919, 2,283 ; 1920, 2,261 ; and 1921, 2,200. 

Without question many of these schools are maintained for the convenience 
of a small number of pupils who, by careful planning, might be conveyed to 
larger schools. A conservative estimate indicates that more than 500 such 
schools might be abolished without causing inconvenience or hardship to their 
patrons, and, with conveyance of the right type, such abandonment would pro- 
duce greatly improved school facilities. In many other cases, such schools 
might well serve the pupils in the first six grades with provision made for 
pupils of the higher grades to be transported to a central junior high school. 

Several hundred one-teacher schools are likely to remain indefinitely because 
of the extreme remoteness of the communities which they serve. The better- 
ment of such schools is a grave problem to which serious attention is being 
given. While the one-teacher school is more difficult of improvement than the 
consolidated school, its efficiency can be and is being greatly increased. The 
most efficient means of improvement of schools of this type as practiced in this 
State is the rural helping teacher plan, under which trained rural leaders are 
serving one-teacher schools in remote communities. Through organization of 
their work, they also give indirect service to other such schools in the section 
in which less efficient teachers are employed. The development of educational 
interest in the smaller communities and legislation which requires the improve- 
ment of the school plant have done much to lift many of these schools out of 
the " ordinary " class and have made them real factors both in educational and 
community service. 

GROWTH OF CONVEYANCE. 

The following table shows the development of conveyance during the past 
10-year period. The proportionate growth corresponds very closely to the pro- 
portionate decrease in the number of one-teacher schools. 





Pupils conveyed to- 


Amount expended. 


Annual per capita cost. 


Year ending 
June 30. 


Elementary 
schools. 


Secondary 
schools. 


Elementary 
schools. 


Secondary 
schools. 


Elemen- 
tary. 


Secondary. 


All. 


1912 


7,111 
7,183 
7,716 
7,910 
7,897 
8,234 
7,823 
7,708 
8,461 
9,220 


262 
207 
300 
443 
497 
517 
433 
453 
428 
468 


$144, 361 
155, 264 
164, 776 
179, 640 
186, 316 
189, 241 
201, 716 
216, 589 
2S3,064 
341, 9S8 


$5,371 
4,281 
6,182 
8,580 
10, 620 
12,830 
11, 572 
10, 959 
13, 587 
17, 568 


$20. 30 
21.61 
21.36 
22.71 
23.59 
22.98 
25.78 
28.10 
33.45 
37.09 


$20. 50 
20.68 
20.61 
19.37 
21.37 
24.81 
26.72 
24.19 
31.74 
37.54 


$20. 31 
21 59 


1913 


1914 




1915. . 


22.53 


1916 


1917 




1918 




1919 




1920 


33 37 


1921 


37 11 







CONSOLIDATION IN CONNECTICUT. 

By W. S. Dakin, State Inspector of Supervision, Hartford, Conn. 

Connecticut, with an area of 4,829 square miles, had by the 1920 census a 
population of 1,380,631. Density of population is 286.4 for the State as a whole. 
Owing to topographical conditions, a rugged western portion, broad, fertile cen- 
tral valley, a sterile eastern part, and a coast line of over 100 miles* the popula- 



8 CONSOLIDATION OF SCHOOLS. 

tion is highly concentrated near the water-power sites of streams in the narrow 
valleys and near the main lines of travel of the central and coast sections. Fair- 
field, New Haven, and Hartford Counties are practically urban in living con- 




Town consolidation ft. With, high school ©. Rural schools only — does not include 
urban schools serving rural communities. 



ditions and facilities for education, transportation, and trade. The five re- 
maining counties, Middlesex, Litchfield, Windham, Tolland, and New London, 
are for the most part sparsely settled and in them truly rural conditions prevail. 



CONSOLIDATION IN CONNECTICUT. 9 

The density in Tolland County is but 67, only a little more than that for the 
State of Kentucky. The density of Windham is 106, or slightly less than for 
the State of Illinois. 

Forty-seven per cent of the towns of the State have each a population of less 
than 2,000. Of these towns, 31 have less than 800 apiece. Seventy-eight per cent 
of the entire population of the State was in 1920 located in the three urban coun- 
ties mentioned above. 

Connecticut is often considered a typical industrial State, yet the farm and 
forest products of its rural sections were in 1918 valued at $59,964,000, or equal 
to 48 per cent of the value of similar products for Oregon and 22 per cent of 
crop value for Oklahoma — States, respectively, 19 and 14 times the area of 
Connecticut. Moreover, the value of these products has been steadily increas- 
ing in the last 60 years. This in spite of the fact that the area of improved land 
in Connecticut has decreased 48 per cent since 1860. 

ESTABLISHMENT OF SCHOOLS. 

The foregoing will serve to show that the rural problem in Connecticut is a 
real one. The scattering of population during the eighteenth century resulted 
in the establishment of schools for every little group of settlers. Hundreds of 
these small isolated hamlets, frequently on the hilltops and usually remote 
from any main lines of travel, became independent educational units. Schools 
established by these early settlers were invariably of the one-room type. These 
were, nevertheless, effective institutions of learning. Entertainments and re- 
ligious meetings were also commonly held in these schools, which were in a sense 
the first exemplifications of the community-center idea. As early as 1798, how- 
ever, school societies were empowered to establish " schools of a higher order," 
which scholars from all districts might attend. 

Through the efforts of Henry Barnard plans for grading pupils were urged 
upon school committees, and in 1838 permissive legislation was enacted to fur- 
ther the progress in classification of schools by centralization. The union or 
consolidated school idea may be said to date from this time, 1838. 

As the economic and pedagogic advantages of class teaching over individual 
instruction were better understood, centralization and grading of pupils be- 
came more general. The first town to adopt this plan was Farmington, in 
1839 ; the first city, Middletown, in 1839, where four districts were consolidated. 
It followed easily in cities where the changes were mainly those of organiza- 
tion. By 1840 gradation of schools had been secured in 80 districts by the em- 
ployment of two teachers where one had been in charge before. More difficulty 
was experienced in the sparsely settled districts, where poor roads, local pride, 
and prejudices made the abandonment of old districts and the elevation of new 
ones a very knotty problem. 

DEVELOPMENT OF CONSOLIDATION. 

Consolidation once begun developed along the following lines: 

1. Where scattered communities have grown into closely built towns and cities, 
consolidation has been readily accepted, because recognized as a financial as 
well as an educational betterment. Every city school is historically a con- 
solidated school and stands in place of numerous one-room buildings that once 
marked the crossroads of what are now busy city streets. City transportation 
by trolley, usually at pupils' own expense, is so common that one seldom takes 
the trouble to comment or make statistics concerning it. 

2. Another form of consolidation is that which endeavors to bring together 
for educational and social reasons schools widely scattered in the open 
country. Here the altruistic aim is paramount. The economic one is less at- 
tractive. In this form of consolidation the concentration of pupils must precede 
the decay of district traditions and the conveniences of urban traffic. Hence 
local pride and costly and difficult transportation are obstacles to be overcome. 



10 CONSOLIDATION OF SCHOOLS, 

i 

3. Another form of consolidation is that exemplified by the early academies 
which drew by a purely educational appeal young people from all parts of the 
town. This consolidation by classes has at the present day found application 
in the grouping of the seventh and eighth grades in one or two central districts. 

PROGRESS OF CONSOLIDATION. 

The number of one-room schools in 1860 was 1,4S6; in 1886, 1,150; in 1920, 
715, a steady decrease totalling 52 per cent. This measures the tendency to- 
ward elimination of (a) weak one-room schools to form larger and better ones 
and ( b ) to group one-room schools to form two and three room schools. 

The amount spent for transportation in Connecticut in 1899 was $8,668.28 ; 2 
in 1920, $290,719.46. This Will measure the progress of these towns in the cen- 
tralization of schools, particularly in view of the fact that these figures ex- 
elude high-school transportation and that the State has at no time given direct 
financial aid toward the transportation of pupils in elementary schools. 

The number of pupils transported in 1899 was 533 ; in 1920, 6,030, an increase 
of 1,031 per cent, whereas the school registration in that time increased but 
73 per cent. 

These figures will show that the increase in pupils transported is far ahead 
of the natural increase in the district and again indicates the progress of these 
towns toward centralization of schools. 

Of the 80 towns in the State with population of 2,000 or less, only 7 neither 
transport any pupils nor have reduced the number of schools since 1860. 

It can be seen from the foregoing that centralization has been continuous and 
is constantly increasing — accelerated by excellent facilities for transportation 
which steadily are being extended. The total steam railway mileage is 1,004 ; 
trolley, 828 ; State roads, 1,481 ; automobiles, one car for each 11 persons, accord- 
ing to 1921 registration. 

TYPES OF CONSOLIDATION. 

Towns which have consolidation may be classified as follows: 

1. Complete consolidation. Towns in which all of the schools have been 
centralized in one district. (6 towns.) 

2. Consolidation of one and two room schools. Towns having at the present 
time only one and two room schools and which transport, pupils from districts 
where smaller one-room schools have been closed. (58 towns.) 

3. Grade consolidation in which pupils from the two upper grades are brought 
together into one or at the most two districts of the town. (25 towns.) 

4. Towns having partial or mixed consolidation in which a central residen- 
tial or business district has absorbed the small schools of the vicinity and 
the upper grades of the remote sections. Such towns usually have a local high 
school to which pupils from some near-by towns are transported. (38 towns.) 

TRANSPORTATION FACILITIES. 

1. The most common vehicles for transportation are the horse-drawn wagon 
and the trolley. Automobile busses are used in many districts. Their use is 
increasing. 

2. Trolley companies according to established custom carry children to and 
from school for one-half regular fare. 

3. Vehicles are not generally owned by the towns but by private individuals. 

4. Transportation routes are usually planned to take children at specified 
points instead of collecting and leaving them at each home. 

5. The average distance each pupil is carried is a little over 4 miles for 
the round trip. 

2 Earlier data not available. 



CONSOLIDATION IN CONNECTICUT. 11 

6. Difficulty in securing suitable persons to transport pupils makes choice by 
competitive bidding impossible in most cases. Arrangements are made by the 
committee on the best practicabla»terms for a school year. 

7. Drivers are not generally under bond. 

8. Drivers are not generally under written contract. 

HIGH -SCHOOL TRANSPORTATION. 

There has for a long time been a strong tendency toward centralization of 
secondary-school instruction. This has been encouraged by a State grant for 
transportation to approved nonlocal high schools of $20 per student, also by 
a grant reimbursing towns to the amount of $30 toward payment of tuition 
in high schools. The legislature of 1921 has increased the tuition grant to 
$50 and transportation allowance to $35. Transportation within the town to 
local high schools is not aided by the State, neither are there grants for towns 
maintaining their own high schools. 

In 1899, the total high-school registration for the State as a whole was 
7,867; in 1920, 27,426, an increase of 248 per cent. Students attending non- 
local high schools in 1899 numbered 214 ; in 1920, 2,655, or more than 10 times 
increased. Disbursements of State aid for high-school transportation in 1899 
amounted to $3,584.09 ; in 1920 to $36,091.76, an increase of 907 per cent. 

The success attending the centralization of upper grades in the 25 towns 
where this is done will, it is believed, create a demand for the development 
of local schools for higher education; something midway between the sixth 
year of the elementary school and the high school. Such an organization 
would suggest the junior high-school plan but the desire to make these " schools 
of higher grade " of greatest possible benefit to the home town will probably 
result in a certain amount of specialization. Absolute standardization of 
such schools, as commonly attempted for the traditional high school, will 
not be acceptable. In the next few years, then, a decrease may be expected 
in the attendance at nonlocal high schools. 

EDUCATIONAL CONDITIONS IN THE 105 TOWNS STUDIED. 

In all but 10, or 90 per cent, of these towns there is full-time supervision 
directed by the State board of education. The supervisors are paid entirely 
by the State and their work is coordinated by a system of inspection and 
monthly conferences with the State department. The average number of 
teachers per supervisor is 32. Supervision is made intensive by the require- 
ment of two visits per month to every school and monthly meetings held for 
all teachers in each town. Another important feature of the work is the 
training of teachers in service. This is carried on, as noted above, by teachers' 
meetings and also through model schools which are specially selected schools 
receiving grants from the State. Teachers from these schools give demon- 
stration lessons and are utilized by the supervisor to assist him in training 
beginners. Frequently young women are taken into these model schools as 
apprentices. 

Seventy-six per cent of all teachers are normal and college graduates and 
a considerable number have in addition received a part normal course or 
some special training at a summer normal school. 

The median for teachers' wages in the rural districts in Connecticut in 1919 
is $994.92. The towns having valuation not exceeding two and a half million 
may receive from the State grants toward the payment of teachers' wages 
ranging from 15 to 60 per cent of the total amount expended for that purpose. 
These grants are paid only after inspection and approval by the State de- 
partment of teachers, buildings, and equipment in these towns. 

All but 19 towns supply free textbooks to students. All, howaver, furnish 
free supplementary reading. 



12 



CONSOLIDATION OF SCHOOLS. 



All of the towns under unified supervision follow a course of study prepared 
by the State department. This covers eight years of work. Through the 
intensive supervision referred to above it is made a vital factor in the educa- 
tion of young people. 

All but four towns have free public libraries or local school library. These 
are closely correlated with the work of the schools. One condition for State 
aid to free public libraries is that they shall cooperate with the schools. 



SUMMARY. 

1. Consolidation became permissive by law in 1789. 

2. Consolidation was reemphasized and became a working force in 1838. 

3. There has been, and is, a steady decrease in the number of one-room 
schools. 

4. There is a continuous increase in the amount expended for transportation. 

5. Consolidation follows no uniform plan, but is applied according to four 
general types: (a) complete; (Z>) partial by grades ; (c) combination of small 
schools to form stronger one or two room schools ; and ( d ) mixed form by 
grouping upper grades and- discontinuance of one-room schools. 

6. There is no tendency to reopen districts once combined with others except 
in a few instances where an unusual influx of population has made a local 
school seem necessary. 

7. High-school centralization by intertown transportation has developed to 
a high degree. This may gradually give way to intratown centralization that 
will include grades 7 and 8. 

APPENDIX. 

Map showing distribution of towns exemplifying the four types of consolida- 
tion described in the report. 




CONNECT ICUT 

Towns having conpleto consolidation. 

Towns havins consolidation - upper crades. 

Tanns having partial consolidation of rural with villas* 

schools. 

Vowub havinc only ono and two roon schools. 

WASHINGTON : GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE : 1A2« 



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